Highlights from Ohio State's Spring Practice - March 19

Spring practice resumed at Ohio State today after a week off for spring break. The calendar might say spring, but Mother Nature has other plans in the Midwest. Due to the blustery conditions and temperature plunging below 30 degrees, the Buckeyes were forced to practice inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

Northern baseball teams often complain about the unfair conditions compared to those in the South. But football is a different animal. Despite being camped indoors every practice this spring, the quality of the play has not dipped.

Head coach Urban Meyer has three units – offense, defense and special teams – that have been readied to make a splash come fall. On that high-powered offense is one of the nation’s most exciting players, dual-threat quarterback Braxton Miller. But he’s surrounded with other weapons, including running back Carlos Hyde and H-back Jordan Hall.

That duo was on display today, going through and running around the defense. Hyde narrowly missed out on a 1,000-yard rushing season a year ago, while Hall’s season came to a halt before it even began. Then, when he finally was healthy and productive, a season-ending injury put a clamp on things.

With a fifth year of eligibility allowing Hall to return to the field once more, he’s taking every opportunity to become the playmaker Meyer yearns for. But a tweaked hamstring kept him out of drills on Day 3 of spring practice.

“(The spring) is critical because he’s being cross trained at two positions,” said running backs coach Stan Drayton. “But Jordan is a super football-savvy guy. He’s been in the fire, he’s super smart. There’s not an issue with missed assignment. He’s been in the scheme.”

A guy still learning, but quickly coming along is Rod Smith. Fall security issues played a big part in his lack of playing time during his freshman and sophomore seasons. But the second half of last season acted as a springboard.

A 30-yard dash through the defense today ended with a cocky flip of the ball. That earned Smith an earful from Drayton, who was none too happy about the incident.

“The first part was dynamic,” he said, “could not stand the end.”

“Rod’s got to continue to grow. This is Year 2 in this system and he knows what he’s doing. He’s playing much more physical, playing fast and playing with a purpose. He wants to play.”

With a stable of running backs, finding the field could be hard for some. Redshirt freshman Warren Ball showed why he was such a highly touted recruit with some exemplary runs on Tuesday.

“Every day I’m going to wipe the slate clean because I watch these kids get better from competition,” Drayton said. “That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

Hyde and PEAK

The most notable event – or events – during Carlos Hyde’s breakout year of 2011 was his 104-yard, two-touchdown performance against Nebraska. The next week he didn’t get a single carry.

Sure, Boom Herron returned. But it didn’t sit well with Hyde, and he made sure to let everyone know by tweeting out his displeasure. Hyde apologized and everyone moved on. But his production and playing time dipped considerably.

When Hyde got an opening last season with Hall’s injury, he took advantage and slammed the door shut on any possibility of him taking a backseat once Hall returned. Nearly 1,000 yards later, Hyde is the starting running back. Period.

“Carlos matured,” Drayton said. “It became more than just about Carlos. That was the difference in his burst onto the football field last year. He cared more about his team and became more of a teammate. That’s definitely the direct reason in the success he had.”

“Carlos matured. It became more than just about Carlos.”

Hyde scored 17 total touchdowns in 2012, using his body and running style to stymie defenses. It all culminated with 26 carries for 146 yards and a touchdown against Michigan. Following that game, Meyer said Hyde was developing into one of the best backs in the country.

That level of play has continued into 2013.

“He’s 3-for-3 in what we call ‘Grade the Day,’ when each one of these kids walk in the meeting rooms they are graded,” Meyer said. “There is still competition, but if he does what we saw at some points last year, I think he will be as good as any kid the country this fall.”

Said Hyde: “This year, I want to just take my game to the next level. I want to make people miss instead of trying to just run people over. I feel like people are going to expect that this year coming up. My whole mindset in the spring right now is making the safety miss and making those big runs, those 60-, 80-yard runs.

“I definitely want to hit that 1,000-yard mark. That’s a big goal for a running back. I definitely want to make that one of my accomplishments here.”

Notes

Today was the first day in pads. No tackling, but it was still physical. Practice started with circle drill.

Jordan Hall has a tweaked hamstring. Coaches expect him to be at full strength soon, but don't want to rush him.

Meyer and Drayton both made it clear that they believe Hall can be the X-factor on offense. Urban said he has the potential to be great, not good.

Hall said returning for a fifth year was always his plan after the season ended. Urban was asked the same thing and said, “Where was he going to go, the NFL?” Then said there was no way that was happening.

Highlight of the day was Kerry Coombs unloading on an official after he called pass interference on Armani Reeves. Lots of expletives.

Urban to the team before practice: "This is the Chase, you have to go big."

Meyer said Thursday’s practice two weeks ago was the best since he's been at Ohio State. He said there was rust today, but still OK.

Meyer joked that he was rusty too. He spent last week in Florida with family.

Best catch of the day went to Devin Smith from JT Barrett on a beautiful over-the-shoulder throw against great coverage.

There’s been lots of talk about Barrett being great teammate. Well, I saw it firsthand today. Looks like the guy is a sponge. He always hangs around Braxton, Urban and Tom Herman when he can.

Braxton Miller was solid. Urban said he's 3 for 3 on good practices. He did throw a pick-six today, though.

Buckeyes used six DBs in some defensive sets today (3-2-6). Interesting look, but it was effective. The offensive line was definitely confused at times on the blitz.

I was reading through the article getting pumped and daydreaming about the hype Braxton and Hyde are getting...
Then I read the line that Drayton said the offense was operating at 60% last year. Holy guacamole, I would love to see 100%. We are on the precipice of and OSU shred fest we could not have even imagined 3-5 years ago. The B1G is about the get sh1t on.
LONG LIVE URBAN MEYER!

The spence news got me excited. 6 db's is also very interesting. I like Decker a lot and hope he matures leaps and bounds, should be a great O-lineman. I love me some Tyvis news man, one of my favorite buckeyes, for sure, Blue Collar mentality. Really happy to see JT Barrett doing good things and being a student of the game as well, and Carlos Hyde is going to be a freaking beast. Hope Hall and Shazier heal up quickly and have a hell of a year.
I LOVE THIS DAMN TEAM!!!!

You can feed a bobcat all the chili it wants. That don't mean it's going to crap out diamonds.

Great Article! I can't wait for football season...although this Friday I'll be pumped up for some basketball! A Final Four run and a B1G Football Championship would be fantastic. Great time to be a Buckeye!

Good stuff Kyle; great to read about Noah Spence; I for one am not too concerned about the D line because I really think we will be locked and loaded up front this fall. However; I will hold off calling this defense "Silver Bullets" until I see it on game day.

Good to see that Spence is winning battles on the line in pads. It seems like he got manhandled from time to time by bigger, more experienced tackles (like Mewhort), and that progress would be encouraging.

He's listed at 247 lbs as of March 5th, 7 lbs heavier than he played at in the fall. Not significant, but you can bet the staff is keeping a close watch on how he puts on weight while being able to stay quick

That amazes me that he played at 240 last season. He sure didn't look it. Carries it very well and would think he could play at as much as maybe 255 without it being a problem. Think it would help him to get heavier though. Fifteen pounds of muscle could make him unstoppable.

I believe he was listed (take it for what it's worth) at 230 out of high school. The media guide for last year listed him at 240, and the spring roster lists him at 247. Deflate those numbers as much as you see fit, the point is that he's gaining weight.

Wow I'm really excited I think M.Thomas will be very impressive this year! Stand Drayton said Ball might be our best back in space also good to hear Decker held his own against AD. I know it's early but no word on Steve Miller or Carter I hope that changes.

Urban to the team before practice: "This is the Chase, you have to go big."

I love this quote. Urban Meyer has a plan for everything and he knows what he's doing. If Buckeye Football were a book, the 2013 chapter would be called 'The Chase'. Last of the BCS system as we know it. High-powered offense. Rose Bowl. Its on!

I wonder how many of these young men follow 11w? I don't post a whole lot but I visit everyday. It is cool to think that some of the players do also. I know it's only spring but I am getting buckeye fever. Thanks 11w for keeping my addiction fed. Very few withdrawals this year thanks to you.

Those highlights are getting me jacked up!
I recall reading so much last year about the increased pace of the practices, and man they didn't slow it down this year. We saw about 3 minutes worth of video and there was virtually zero down time for players OR coaches. Very crisp and fast, I love it.
And good lord Tommy Schutt is a load, wow.

Hyde's mention that he reads 11W should put everyone on notice. You can be critical, but remain supportive of these guys. I'm sure they don't want to read that "they suck" or whatever.
Side not: Adolphus is the biggest college DE I've ever seen. Dude looks like one of the guys from the NFL Blitz game.

Look at the video and tell me Diesel doesn't look bigger than Heyward.
Heyward was 6'5'' and 295. Washington is only 6'3'' and looks every bit of 300. The extra 2 inches means Heyward carries his weight differently. Even if Washington was 290, he would "look bigger" than Heyward due to their frame sizes.

I've got two takeaways from this.
1. Why was Coombs going after an official in practice? I understand that they bring refs in for practice, which makes sense, but why do you need to berate a guy for a call he made in spring practice? It was either a pass interference or it wasn't. If the ref thought it was, then it was. Players need to work around that, and so do coaches. Then again, I'm a baseball umpire, and because of ref solidarity, i refuse to criticize refs.
2. This is a minor thing, and probably reflects how long it's been since I've been on 11W frequently, but nice touch with the pull-quote. Little formatting things like that are not unnoticed, and I think it ultimately makes the whole site seem more legit. Keep up the good work guys

Well there is your problem. I agree that going after a ref in practice is dumb, but refusing to criticize refs, when they can blatantly change the outcome of a game, or severely lower its quality of play in several sports (Buckeye Basketball and Blue Jackets hockey games come into mind this year), is just as mind-boggling. Refs aren't deities, it's ok to criticize them, because they make mistakes too.

No game has ever been decided by blown calls by the refs. Even the most blatant miss in the history of the NFL-The Fail Mary in Seattle-wasn't decided because of the refs. Refs have never had a bias against a team either. Every group of fans think refs are out to get their team and their team alone but it just isn't the case. I'm with you in that they aren't infallible, clearly they aren't, but we part at the notion that they can change the outcome of a game. The quality? Maybe but the outcome, no.
The players and coaches affect the outcome. Blaming the refs is easier but flawed.

Do I come off as arrogant? Shame on me, I was hoping it would be more obvious.

Best catch of the day went to Devin Smith from JT Barrett on a beautiful over-the-shoulder throw against great coverage.

There’s been lots of talk about Barrett being great teammate. Well, I saw it firsthand today. Looks like the guy is a sponge. He always hangs around Braxton, Urban and Tom Herman when he can.

I do believe this means, "Stop freaking out ppl about the 2014 QB...it's really not that important!" Remember...JT is doing this on a newly reconstructed ACL and MCL. Granted it's spring practice and one lil pass without a whole lot of contact. However...I still think he'll be fine folks. I think OSU's coaches want who they want (Watson) but don't be surprised if they go after someone not as highly ranked if they miss on him (which they will miss out on him bc of JT. It sure won't be bc Urban and Co don't try to get the passer from the peach state).
The Defensive Line as well as LBs should be much improved come spring and especially by the start of the season. I'm getting excited for the Spring Game to see the defense...that's what I want to see in action.

"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."

"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."